Moldova vs Ireland: Preview and Prediction

Moldova vs Ireland
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Saturday, 8th October 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK
Venue: Stadionul Zimbru, Chisinau.

Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win against Georgia and Moldova’s heavy 3-0 defeat against Serbia put the four strong sides in Group D at same points. Austria, Wales, Ireland and Serbia have four points each and this makes the matchday 3 of the group stage pretty interesting.

Ireland and Wales have relatively weaker opponents in Moldova and Georgia respectively. While the most important clash will be between Austria at home against Serbia. However, the pressure will be high on Ireland and Wales to deliver all three points.

While Moldova have a poor record in qualification tournaments and they suffered the second consecutive defeat of the current campaign on Thursday against Serbia. The defeat put them on a four match losing streak and 1 win from their last 23 matches in all competitions. They are currently on a four match losing streak in all competitions.

Moldova vs Ireland: Head-to-Head Stats

There are no records of previous clashes between these sides at the moment.

Moldova vs Ireland: Prediction

Ireland were expected to defeat Georgia by a healthier margin, but fell short of expectations despite coming out with a 1-0 victory. Their credentials while playing away from home are questionable after having tasted win only twice in the last 16 outings. And the wins were against lower ranked nations like Gibraltar and Georgia.

The goal scoring record of Ireland away from home is also a big worry, which averages at 0.81 in the last 16 games. At the same time, Moldova have conceded at least two goals in each of their last 4 home games and they have scored only one goal during the period. The chance is up for Ireland to make good use of the opposition woes and we believe they will finally end their goal scoring woes in away games.